Lia Richardson is an enigma; uniquely made up of a mysterious blend of traits that shouldn’t, for all intents and purposes, make any sense together and yet they somehow do. What you see isn’t always what you get and so is the case with someone like Lia—which is part of her appeal. At first glance, Lia is beautiful, blonde-haired, fair-skinned, blue-eyed, and modelesque…because, well, she is, in fact, a model. Yet, she speaks with a deep voice that is typically associated with someone twice her size and of the opposite sex. “I have a deep voice, which I think throws a lot of people off,” she jokes in her stand-up set. “‘I think they expect me to sound like, *valley girl accent* “Let’s get margaritas at the bungalow!” but instead I’m like, *her actual voice* “Let’s put a bunch of eggs in the microwave and watch them bust out of their shells!’” It’s this humble, self-awareness, that tinges on self-deprecation at times, which draws you into Lia’s universe and makes her so relatable. Lia owns who she is and isn’t afraid to show it—in a variety of creative endeavors, each revealing a different side of her personality. As a singer-songwriter, her music is dark, downtempo, and emotional—haunting even. The very first song she ever wrote and recorded was featured on The CW show, Significant Mother. As a comedian, we see the goofball; the tough, wry, dry, tomboy shine. Lia regularly performs across Los Angeles at iconic venues like the Hollywood Improv and The Comedy Store. And as a model, we watch just how Lia can transform into all of the above…and more. She’s represented name brands as diverse as Ulta, Big Sexy Hair, Disney, and Blue Moon beer. This is what keeps Lia interesting. She’s endlessly creative, expressing herself in whatever form is most authentic to her at that period of time. The only constant being that Lia is fiercely unafraid to keep it real and say things exactly as they are, without sugarcoating any of it.
Hailing from what she jokes in her stand-up set is “trailer park,” Oregon, Lia was always the class clown. Throughout elementary school, she participated in school plays, musicals, the church choir, and even took tap dancing lessons, hinting early on at the triple threat she would come to be. At 15, Lia was scouted for modeling then began auditioning for commercials while taking an acting class in Portland. This only furthered her interest in performing so when an acting showcase presented her with the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and sign with a talent manager, Lia jumped at the chance. She continued acting and modeling in this new city, but was becoming increasingly frustrated by an industry that told her constantly how to look, what to say, and who to be. It was the encouragement of a musician boyfriend who noticed her powerful, raspy, soulful voice, that led Lia to pick up the ukulele and teach herself to play the instrument through Youtube tutorials. She eventually began official vocal lessons with singer/ songwriter Rachael Lawrence (Glee, Grey’s Anatomy, Halsey), in which she would write original songs and take them in to Rachael to workshop. Once she booked a job as a lounge singer at a hotel, Lia realized that music came naturally to her and continued walking down that path, ultimately collaborating with her first band, Lia & the Daymakers, on a retro, soul-inspired EP entitled, Steady! She felt she had creative control as a musician in ways that she hadn’t experienced as an actor or model. This is also what ultimately drew Lia to stand-up comedy. She says she “stumbled into stand-up” and would tell jokes and stories on stage that she had been recounting unknowingly to friends for years. It is music and stand-up that has allowed Lia to embrace her dichotomous self unapologetically in her work.
Like a desert dream, Lia’s comedy is wry, dry, and subversively observational. Her stand-up challenges the very beauty and body image standards that she, herself, has at times benefitted from as a professional model. “I model on occasion…JCPenney, heard of it?” she laughs, “‘One thing that bugs me about modeling is that people speak about your body objectively…Like I worked with this photographer recently who I had worked with in the past and she said, “Okay Lia, before we start…which eye is the saggy eye?” and I was like “Uh… didn’t know I had a saggy eye, but I guess it’s the one that’s CRYING?’” Lia pokes fun at how absurd and ridiculous it all is, comparing herself without make-up to “a young British boy in an oil painting.” Despite her admittedly grotesque and tomboy sense of humor, Lia’s comedy is
actually quite feminist, encouraging a new perspective and female body positivity. She points out the demoralizing titles in women’s magazines such as, “7 Reasons You’re Driving Him Away,” in contrast to the men’s magazines’ you-can-do-anything vibes. “‘I would love to see an article with the title, “Maybe Not All Your Ex Girlfriends Are Crazy – Maybe You’re Just a D***,’” Lia notes. It is this ability to crack convention, while bringing in personal experience, that makes her so damn funny. But the best jokes often come from real pain and Lia is no stranger to the darker side of life. She’s struggled with depression, as many comedians have, yet this sadness is what is expressed through her music and the songs she writes, in stark contrast to her typically upbeat comedic persona.
Having spent the last few years developing a new sound, Lia emerges with her latest single, and very first song as a solo-act, Crying Dry, a grungy, downtempo, underground pop anthem about going numb, checking out, ignoring red flags, and ultimately being unable to access her sadness. Lia explains, “Oftentimes society doesn’t encourage women’s emotions. They think we’re either crazy or dramatic or menstruating. Emotion is seen as weakness and, for a period of time, I took that to heart. But this lack of expressing myself was affecting me personally. I was suppressing my anger and sadness, wasn’t speaking up, and was therefore attracting toxic relationships. I realized that I was essentially still crying on the inside or crying dry. So I wrote about that and am opening up about it now through my music. I’m learning as I age that vulnerability is actually a superpower.” The sonic landscape is minimalist and eerie, reminiscent of walking through a haunted house right before the big scare, with Lia’s vibrato and raspy, deep vocals as the forefront. What would come out if our repressed anger and sadness was actually expressed? The song’s music video explores this question and the tension that boils underneath the surface of a house-wife locking up a part of herself in order to barely keep it all together. Check out Lia’s latest creative project, Crying Dry, yourself— available now on all listening platforms. Here’s to looking forward to whatever artistic pursuit she may uncover next. May it be painting, underwater basket weaving—or perhaps a full- length album—whatever it is, the only certain is that Lia will bring her unique flair and crush it being the tour de force that she is.